A moderate earthquake struck parts of southeast England on 28 April 2007，toppling chimneys from houses and rousing residents from their beds. Several thousand people were left without power1 in Kent County. One woman suffered minor head and neck injuries.

　　2007年4月28日英格蘭東南部地區(qū)發(fā)生中度地震一些房屋煙囪倒塌，許多居民半夜從睡夢(mèng)中驚醒�？咸乜�幾千人遭遇斷電。二名女子頭部和頸部受了輕傷。

　　"lt felt as if the whole house was being slid across like a fun-fair ride,3" said the woman.The British Geological Survey said the 4.3-magnitude quake4 struck at 8:19 a.m. and was centered under the English Channel5，about 8.5 miles south of Dover6 and near the entrance to the Channel Tunnel7.

　　“它(地震)給人的感覺(jué)是整幢房子就：像游東場(chǎng)的濞行機(jī)一祥在滑動(dòng)�！�;該女子說(shuō)。 英國(guó)地質(zhì)調(diào)査局說(shuō)，本次里氏4. 3級(jí)的地M發(fā)生于上午8點(diǎn)19分，震中在英吉利海峽底部， 位于多佛爾以南約8. 5英里處的海峽隧道入口附近。

　　Witnesses said cracks appeared in walls and chimneys collapsed across the county. Residents said the tremor had lasted for about 10 to 15 seconds.

　　一些目擊者看到郡中墻壁出現(xiàn)裂縫,并有煙囪倒塌。當(dāng)?shù)鼐用裾f(shuō)震動(dòng)大約持續(xù)了 10~15秒。

　　"I was lying in bed and it felt as if someone had just got up from bed next to me." said Hendrick van Eck，27，of Canterbury8 about 60 miles southeast of London."I then heard the sound of cracking，and it was getting heavier and heavier9.It felt as if someone was at the end of my bed hopping up and down."

　　“我當(dāng)時(shí)躺在床上，覺(jué)得好像旁邊有人從床上站起來(lái)�！弊≡趥惗貣|南部60英里處坎特伯雷的 27歲的HendrickvanEck說(shuō)，“然后我聽(tīng)到有東西裂開(kāi)的聲音，而且越來(lái)越響。就好像有人在我床 尾不停地并著腳跳�！�

　　There are thousands of moderate quakes on this scale around the world each year，but they are rare in Britain. The April 28 quake was the strongest in Britain since 2002 when a 4.8-magnitude quake struck the central England city of Birmingham10.

　　這種規(guī)模的中度地震世界上每年都會(huì)發(fā)生幾千次，但在英國(guó)仍非常少見(jiàn)。4月28日的地震是 英國(guó)自2002年中部城市伯明翰里氏4. 8級(jí)地震以來(lái)最強(qiáng)的一次。

　　The country's strongest earthquake took place in the North Sea in 1931，measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale11. British Geological Survey scientist Roger Musson said the quake took place on 28 April in an area that had seen several of the biggest erthquakes ever to strike Britain，including one in 1580 that caused damage in London and was felt in France.12 Musson predicted that it was only a matter of time13 before another earthquake struck this part of England. However，people should not be scared too much by this prediction，Musson said，as the modern earthquake warning system of Britain should be able to detect a forthcoming quake and announce it several hours before it takes place. This would allow time for people to evacuate and reduce damage to the minimum.

　　英國(guó)的地震最高曾達(dá)到里氏6.1級(jí)，1931年發(fā)生在北海。英國(guó)地質(zhì)勘測(cè)所的科學(xué)家羅杰馬森說(shuō)，4月28日發(fā)生地震的地區(qū)曾經(jīng)遭受過(guò)幾起英國(guó)最大的地震，其中的一次發(fā)生在1580年，那次地震蹂躪了倫敦，并波及法國(guó)6馬森預(yù)言英格蘭的這個(gè)地區(qū)早晚還會(huì)發(fā)生地震，但他說(shuō)人們不 必對(duì)此產(chǎn)生太大恐懼，因?yàn)橛⒁鸬默F(xiàn)代地震預(yù)警系統(tǒng)應(yīng)該能夠偵測(cè)即將發(fā)生的地震，并在震前數(shù)小時(shí)內(nèi)通知大家。這將使人們有時(shí)間撤離震區(qū)，并把損失降到最低。